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History and Mission

History and Mission


If the immense territories of Quebec and Canada abound in majestic forests, there are few places where the exploitation of these riches has left such an indelible mark on a region and its population. It took the unshakeable will of men and women who knew how to tame a wild nature in order to put down roots in a sustainable manner. The Musée de la gare works to transmit the tenacity, the uniqueness and the visionary thinking that were the founding values that are still perceptible today in Temiscaming and that are represented by the symbol that is the railway station. 

Originally, the train station was the central point of all the development activities of the Temiscaming community, it was the place where people met and exchanged. This essential building was at the heart of the economic and social life of the community, as the railroad was, for several decades, the main means of communication with the outside world. The station was built in the Georgian style, an architecture that is only found in Temiscaming at the former Bank of Montreal building. It is the only station in Canada to be built in the Georgian style. It also has the particularity of housing, in its basement, one of the bunkers that were built during the Cold War. It is the first Quebec station to be recognized as a cultural property.

1887 - Opening of the first train station, on the shore of Lake Timiskaming
1920 - Fire in the old station
1921 - Construction of a temporary station on the same site
1927 - Construction of the new station and the bridge to access it
1928 - Opening of the station
1970 - Closure of the Temiscamingue railway
1979 - Recognized as a historical monument
1993 - Purchase of the station by the Town of Temiscaming and Tembec
1994 - Arson attack destroying the roof and the first floor
1995 - Project to create a museum in the station / Sale of the land and building to the P.E. Gendreau Historical Society
1996 - Opening of the station museum